When they had been talking in the room earlier, Cheng Shi had noticed that the wounds on the hacked-to-death dwarf were unusual.
They did not look like wounds inflicted by a sharp weapon such as the daggers assassins commonly used. They looked more like wounds from a blunt-edged blade.
For example...
Cheng Shi glanced around for a moment, then kicked a bloodstained knife out from under a bed.
Judging by its length and size, it looked like a weapon belonging to the dwarves themselves.
A Dwarf battle knife.
But someone had probably been certain that everyone would not stay here long, so the scene had been handled rather casually—or rather, it could not even be called handled.
He had not cared about these details at all.
"Interesting..."
Recalling his conversation with A'ming, Cheng Shi continued examining the dead dwarves.
It did not take long for him to notice something suspicious.
Judging from the positions of the six dwarves and the traces of fighting at the scene, it did look as though they had attacked the same target.
Perhaps Fang Shiqing had pulled Cheng Shi away in time, leaving A'ming, who had followed right behind them, to take the blame.
But what puzzled Cheng Shi even more was that the wounds on the six bodies had all been inflicted with different amounts of force.
It did not look like one person had cut them down. It looked more as though six different people had killed the dwarves.
What a coincidence. There were six killers and six victims.
"Mutual slaughter?"
Cheng Shi knitted his brows tightly and began considering whether an Assassin possessed an ability to control people. At least, such an ability was uncommon among the Order.
"What a chaotic scene. Still, it's not as if I gained nothing."
Cheng Shi picked up a ring he had taken from one of the dwarf corpses. Squinting as he examined it in the sunlight streaming through the window, he clicked his tongue appreciatively.
He looked at it again and said:
"The workmanship is truly exquisite. I wonder what kind of skill it takes to forge such a fine ring. What a pity—it belongs to me now."
He grinned, slipped the ring into his pocket, and sauntered out of the servants' room.
As soon as he stepped outside, he ran into Bailing, who seemed to have been waiting for him with a smile on her face.
Cheng Shi's expression darkened. He scolded her with a laugh:
"Are you clinging to me now?"
Bailing had somehow acquired another dress. Imitating a noblewoman, she made an elegant curtsy and giggled.
"Mind if I cling to a big shot?"
"You can cling to me, but don't grope me."
"Don't worry, Big Shot. I'm very obedient. I'll touch wherever you tell me to."
"..."
Cheng Shi could not be bothered to argue with her. He walked around her and continued forward.
"Perfect. In this outfit, I can pass as your attendant. Did you discover anything?"
"What kind of attendant walks ahead of their master?"
Bailing hurried after him and replied in a low voice:
"The estate is huge, and there are many guests. I just knocked out a noblewoman and put on her clothes, then got her husband talking. Duke Brooks seems not to have shown himself at all. There are only thirty minutes left until the time he announced his appearance."
Cheng Shi raised his eyebrows. A woman who doesn't play by the rules really is fast at gathering information.
Following Bailing, he quickly entered the great hall at the center of the estate and weaved through the many nobles. Before long, he spotted the others.
Everyone had changed into new clothes and was searching separately.
Cheng Shi took a cursory look around the hall and decisively chose to leave with Bailing.
"Big Shot?"
"The answer isn't here."
"Oh." Bailing responded softly and followed Cheng Shi toward another area.
As he watched her silently walking ahead, Cheng Shi suddenly felt that something was missing, so he said:
"Aren't you going to ask why?"
"It's enough that I obey. I don't need to know why. Of course, if Big Shot needs someone to cheer him on, I can act the part very convincingly."
"..."
What kind of person is this? She's no fun at all.
Compared with Song Yawen from the previous round, she was not even as good as Chen Chong. At least Chen Chong could give him a sense of accomplishment.
But some things were uncomfortable to keep bottled up.
"The dwarf's ring is exquisite."
"And then?"
"Noble lords wouldn't pay attention to a dwarf's ring."
"Oh, so?"
"So the target isn't here."
"I see. Big Shot, you're amazing."
"...You'd better shut up."
"Oh." Bailing smiled like a skylark, making the surrounding guests turn to look at them. "Then, Big Shot, where are we going now?"
That was a good question.
Cheng Shi's original target had actually been the lower-class people who frequently interacted with the dwarf refugees. But he suddenly felt that since the dwarves' visit here was connected to the duke, perhaps paying the duke a visit would be a good choice.
He pointed toward the stairs, signaling for Bailing to go upstairs.
Bailing's expression changed, and she exclaimed in a low voice:
"There are guards. If we go up there openly, they'll stop us."
Cheng Shi's eyes shifted. With a sly grin, he said:
"Play to your strengths."
Bailing froze for a moment, then understood.
She lifted her skirt and hurried toward the stairs. Sure enough, as soon as she reached the foot of the stairs, she was stopped by iron-clad guards.
Bailing quickly lowered her head and leaned closer, whispering:
"The duke needs me."
The guards' heads and faces were hidden beneath their helmets, so their expressions could not be seen. But the way they tightened their grips on their spears still exposed their shock.
Perhaps they were savoring the meaning of the word "needs."
When the two guards showed no reaction, Bailing extended her hand and hooked the index fingers of both hands together in front of her.
It was a vulgar gesture popular in the pleasure houses of the Isle of Hope. It meant lowering oneself to please someone, and no lady with even a little status would make such a gesture.
Or rather, only women in certain professions would make the gesture to indicate their price.
The two guards were clearly even more shocked.
They studied Bailing's lovely face, slender figure, and elegant bearing, yet could not bring themselves to associate her with that gesture.
"You..."
"I told you, the duke needs me."
"But the duke didn't notify us..."
"Are you saying the duke has to notify you whenever he needs someone?"
"?" The guard was instantly dumbfounded.
That was true. Why would the duke need to notify him?
Besides, what was wrong with letting a woman go inside? Hadn't the Duchess often brought men back with her?
The two guards exchanged glances. Both had convinced themselves and took a step back.
Bailing was delighted and gave Cheng Shi a meaningful look.
Cheng Shi secretly laughed, but kept his expression reserved as he followed her.
The two guards still wanted to stop him, but Bailing's expression turned cold.
"Idiots, don't you know how to avoid suspicion? If you let me go upstairs alone, what will happen to the duke's reputation?"
You've already let her go upstairs. Does the duke still have a reputation?
The guards' minds overloaded slightly. Then, as though resigning themselves to it, they let the little attendant pass as well.
Of course, it was not because they were concerned about the duke's reputation.
It was because they had noticed that the servant behind her was far too handsome to be an attendant.
He looked more like a... pet raised by noblewomen.
In that case, who needed her—Duke Brooks or the Duchess?
Forget it. Perhaps they both did.
I'm only a guard. Why am I thinking about this so much?
Seeing that the guards had let them pass, Bailing happily led Cheng Shi up the stairs.
Just as they disappeared onto the second floor, Fang Shiqing quietly approached with Xu Lu.
"Hello, we'd like to request an audience with the duke."
Fang Shiqing spoke with gentleness and courtesy—so much so that she hardly seemed like a noblewoman from Brooks Town.
An audience with the duke? The duke is probably busy.
The guards rejected them without hesitation. Their cold attitude was difficult to accept.
Fang Shiqing's expression changed, and she secretly knitted her brows, wondering how Cheng Shi and the others had gotten upstairs.
Xu Lu was even more embarrassed and furious. She shouted:
"Why won't you let us go up? How did those two get upstairs just now?"
The guard raised his spear when he heard that.
"No shouting. No one is allowed upstairs to disturb the duke. No one went up just now, either. Leave."
At that moment, they finally remembered to protect the duke's reputation.
If the duke still had one.
"You..."
"Let's go. Having them upstairs is enough."
"But that Cheng fellow is a freeloader."
Fang Shiqing felt rather vindicated when she heard this, but she still silently complained to herself:
How do you have the nerve to say that so righteously? How are you any less of a freeloader than he is?
Out of consideration for Xu Lu's dignity, she did not say it aloud. She simply walked away in silence.
Seeing her big shot leave, Xu Lu naturally hurried after her.
While Xu Lu was being humiliated, Cheng Shi had already reached the duke's room on the second floor.
But when he pushed open the door and saw what was inside, his expression darkened immediately.
In the enormous room, a middle-aged man dressed in splendid clothing lay sprawled across the bed, his chest covered in blood. He had long since stopped breathing.
Bailing widened her eyes and covered her mouth as she cried out, "He's...!"
"Shh! Someone's coming!"
Cheng Shi quickly pulled Bailing into the room, gently closed the door, and dragged her into the wardrobe opposite the bed.
The wardrobe was not spacious, and it was crammed full of all kinds of clothing.
Cheng Shi had no choice and immediately squeezed inside.
But there was only enough room for one person to stand. After Cheng Shi occupied most of it, Bailing had no choice but to crouch at his feet, barely covering herself with the hem of her dress.
To close the wardrobe door, she had no choice but to wrap both arms around certain supports.
"Miss, be gentle."
"Don't worry. I won't grope you."
"..."
This time, she really was clinging to my leg.
"Click."
The lock turned, followed immediately by the sound of footsteps.
Before Cheng Shi could carefully determine how many people had entered, an angry woman's voice rang out.
"I only told you to knock him unconscious! I didn't tell you to kill him! Do you know what the consequences will be?"
A deep male voice answered her.
"Dilar, you have to believe me. I didn't kill him!"
Cheng Shi raised his eyebrows, recalling whom the name belonged to.
Dilar, Duchess of Duke Brooks—the number-one noblewoman in town, whose rear had been groped by a guard.
Then who is this man?
Before you continue